Competition Focus

Hansi Flick’s first serious annoyance at FC Barcelona


Despite still being the leader, Barcelona’s dynamics are not good, with 1 point out of the last six possible. To change this, Hansi Flick decided to break routines that he had established in these first four months of competition. Until now, he avoided addressing the players immediately after the matches and waited 24 hours to cool down his analysis. However, at Balaídos, he was boiling with anger for letting two points slip away. He sought an immediate reaction from his players with a very visceral talk in the Celta stadium’s dressing room.

Gavi, a starter more than 365 days later, spoke to the media. After finishing the interview, he had to return to the locker room as the German coach was going to gather the team to deliver a message. This time, Flick wanted it to be in the heat of the moment, he wanted it to be just after the 2-2, sought for it to be different so that the speech would resonate, for the Blaugrana to see a new side of their coach.

A different movie

Until now, he used to wait 24 hours to cool down his analysis, but after the 2-2 he wanted his message to be hot so that it resonated

Close, affectionate, demanding but understanding coach – as he had shown – taught that he can also raise his voice when he gets really angry.

Flick’s goal was to make the team see that the slip was important because, in his opinion, it denotes a dangerous trend. What bothered him the most was that Barcelona had considered the game won prematurely. He repeated this in the press room, after having already told it to their faces. Beyond Marc Casadó’s expulsion or Koundé’s occasional but significant mistake, Barça did not play well, relying too much on their striking power.

Relaxation detected

In the last four games, Barcelona has relaxed and has not scored any goals after the 76th minute

In soccer, it’s easy to get carried away. The thrashings against Bayern (4-1) and Real Madrid (0-4) in one week were spectacular, but they cannot make the team forget their obligations and insist on what took them to that level. In those matches, the Blaugrana were very assertive in attack but also very serious in pressing and focused on the defensive line. However, against Celta, they gave away too much, just like against Real Sociedad. “Playing at 80 or 85% is not enough for me. That’s not how we will win,” he made clear to his disciples in the dressing room.

Relaxation and lack of concentration are not new. It happened in the derby, for example, where Barça relaxed after going 3-0 up before half-time. And, to a lesser extent, after taking an early lead in Belgrade. In the last four games, they haven’t scored any goals after the 76th minute when the ambition to score more has been one of the characteristics of their game.

The team is not installed in the opposite field

Barcelona finds it extremely difficult to be dominant if they do not have Lamine Yamal stretching and threatening on the right wing

Despite being only 17 years old, Barcelona struggles tremendously to be dominant without Lamine Yamal stretching and threatening on the right wing. The team is unable to win without the youth academy winger, who was a substitute at El Sadar (4-2 against Osasuna), did not even dress for the match at Anoeta (1-0), and did not even travel to Balaídos (2-2).

In Vigo, Dani Olmo was disciplined playing on the left, while Raphinha was very decisive, clearly winning his duel with Mingueza in the two Barcelona goals. However, throughout the match, Barcelona only touched the ball 18 times in Celta’s penalty area.

A lot of difference

The high numbers of Raphinha and Lewandowski (13 and 20 goals, respectively) contrast with the level of some substitutes

It generated little and, in addition, never had the game under control even though it was winning 0-2 on the scoreboard. Celta had a lot of dangerous plays, with up to 15 shots (10 of them from inside the box) and the six saves made by Iñaki Peña.

Above vulnerability when playing with fewer players from minute 82 onwards, Flick emphasized those unforced errors and possession losses that facilitated the opponent’s counterattacks. “It was a bad match, the whole match,” he insisted, partly because there is a difference between the starters – with high numbers from Raphinha and Lewandowski (13 and 20 goals, respectively) – and the less frequent players. Flick is confident that the gift-giving is over, trusting to return to the right path tomorrow against Brest in the Champions League.





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